One of the key architectural features of our neighborhood is the front porch.  Every housing unit (condominium, town house, or home) is required to have one.  Some are little more than a front stoop, but even those have a balcony on the second floor overlooking the front walk.  The intention is to create a sense of community and draw people into public spaces to relate.

Some of the people in the neighborhood do a great job of using their porches for just those things but there are other porches that are completely empty.  The definition of community varies from person to person.  Some see community as a tight knit group of people who care for others, while some see it as a safe place where people are like them. The state of your front porch seems to indicate where you land on the spectrum.

What does your front porch say about your value of others?  Is it empty, inviting, or some where in the middle? We strive to keep our front porch inviting and our door open to those around us.  And, for so many around us, that is a foreign concept.  After all, we are strangers and aliens in this land.